The UCI has decided to host the 2022 Gravel World Championships on October 8-9 in Veneto, Italy; the 2023 Gravel World Championships will also be held in Italy, but the final venue has yet to be determined.

The organizers of L'Eroica in Tuscany were favored to celebrate the 25th edition of L'Eroica as the official venue for the first ever UCI Gravel World Championships (open under a new tab). However, World Championships are always awarded through a bidding process involving large rights fees, and the UCI chose the Veneto region in northeastern Italy this time. [The UCI announced after the UCI Management Committee that "the two upcoming championships will be held in Italy, the first on October 8 and 9, 2022, and the second on September 30 and October 1, 2023, locations to be determined. [The host city will be announced at a later date; the UCI Gravel World Championships will be the first edition of the UCI Gravel World Series.

Last year, former pro rider Filippo Pozzato organized a pro rider gravel race in Veneto called Serenissima Gravel (open with a new tab) as part of a series of end-of-season events.

Alexey Lutsenko (Astana-Premiere Tech) won the first Serenissima Gravel event in Piazzolla Sul Brenta, 42 seconds ahead of Riccardo Minari (Intermarche - Wanty Gobert) and Nathan Haas (Cofidis) to take the solo victory.

The UCI Gravel World Championships is a separate event from the "Gravel World Championships" held in Nebraska, USA, whose name is trademarked and will take place on August 20.

See Gravel Week's feature on the differences between the two events here.

Gravel World vs Gravel World Championships - What's in a name?

To qualify for the Gravel World Championships, riders must place in the top 25 percent of their gender and age group in one of the World Series races.

In the 85km race in Bongabon, Philippines, first place in the men's race was Leamon Lapaza and Melisa Jane Jaroda in the women's race, and in Nanup, Western Australia, Maria Madigan won her third consecutive Seven title in the men's race as Adam Blazevic defeated Nathan Haas The team achieved this feat. The latest round, held in Milhaud, France, was won by Niki Terpstra and Tessa Nefes of the Netherlands.

Next up is the Gravel Adventure in Poland on June 18, followed by the Highland Gravel Classic on June 25 and the Jingle GX Gravel Race on August 6, before the race heads to the US. After that, five races will be held in Europe during August and September in Sweden, Belgium, Italy, the Netherlands, and Spain, followed by Australia on September 4 in Beechworth.

The mass participation event series is run in partnership with Golazo, which also runs the Gran Fondo series, and Trek is the title sponsor through 2024.